Tulsa Opera, one of the nation's veteran opera companies and an historic incubator of rising vocal talent, has appointed Tobias Picker as the company's new Artistic Director, effective June 1, 2016.

Picker, who has been hailed as “our finest composer for the lyric stage” (The Wall Street Journal), will collaborate with General Director/CEO Greg Weber on overall artistic vision for the company, selection of repertoire and production teams, and casting of singers.

Weber commented:

I am thrilled to have the international talents of Tobias Picker join Tulsa Opera. Tobias is one of the most important composers I’ve worked with, and his passion for connecting audiences with opera surpasses any other artist I’ve known. His artistic leadership blended with his sublime skills with audience and artist cultivation promises to make Tulsa one of the most exciting opera cities in coming years.

Picker writes:

I am honored to have been asked to work with Greg Weber and the Tulsa Opera whose glorious past is well known throughout the opera world. I am extremely excited to become part of the Tulsa Opera family as we look down the road together toward a stellar future.

The New York City Opera has announced its plan to commission a new opera by Picker to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary in 2019. The opera, Picker’s sixth, is titled American Venus and will be based on the life of Audrey Munson, an early 20th-century figure considered by many to be America's first supermodel.

On June 1, pianist Michael Brown gave a special performance of selections from Picker’s ballet Awakenings as part of the World Science Festival’s celebration of Oliver Sacks. Picker’s ballet was inspired by Sacks’s book of the same name, and was commissioned by the Rambert Dance Company in 2010.